Newbie Guides New To PC's User Guide The Secretary

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The Secretary

There is the fallacy that a computer replaces people: well not necessarily so. A computer is only as good as the data that is fed into it. And there will always have to be real live people to determine what is going to go into the computer, how long the information should stay there, and where it is to go when it is finished being used. There will always be need for secretaries! A big part of secretarial work is the compilation of documents. Documents of all kinds. Letters, forms, requisitions etc etc. The typewriter was a major secretarial aid invention years ago to make the secretary's work neater and more organised. Now the typewriter has been replaced by the word processor.... either as a unit of itself, or as part of a larger computer system. Now the word processor can do what the secretary always wished the typewriter could do. Store information for later use. Easier modification of documents already in process - without white out ... or starting all over again. Easy deletion of work no longer necessary, without tearing up massive amounts of paper and folders. Also, the ability to add graphics to the document, not just words. This is in fact what the WORD PROCESSOR of the modern computer system is all about. Major programs like WORD are geared to the processing of words, and anything at all that needs to be done with that word when it is finished all the way to printing personalised form letters and mailing labels... all with minimum amount of effort and steps. Finding a word processing program suited for your needs is like shopping for an automobile... there is the Volkswagen and there's the Cadillac and everything in between. It all depends if you want it to wash the break-time dishes or not!

Another major principle in operating a computer is TRIAL AND ERROR. This is how mostly EVERYONE who uses a computer no matter how experienced learns new programs. TRIAL and ERROR, testing things out, backing up, and going another direction until the desired results are accomplished. It is probably safe to say that most major programs are only partially tapped in their potentiality or capabilities ..... the programmers write much more into them then anyone can even expect to learn to use.... so a grasp of the basics in each program is all that anyone can even expect to have. So relax....... and another principle is ... stop using a program for a while and go back to it .... you will practically have to start all over again learning it! Each program is so different! See, it is not as complicated as you may have thought.

The Filing Cabinet

The Processor